September 10, 2026
Good morning and welcome to the first edition of The Dental Read.
Every Thursday, we’ll do the scanning so you don’t have to.
This week:
NHS dental activity rose, the longer-term practice footprint kept shrinking, practice buyers got busier, and one extra bonding step gets put on trial.
THE DRILL
More NHS dentistry. Fewer NHS practices.
England delivered 37.6 million NHS courses of treatment in 2025/26, up 6.2% on the year before. UDAs rose 5.1%.
But only 40% of the adult population had been seen by an NHS dentist in the previous 24 months. For children, it was 60%.
Now put that beside a separate Nuffield Trust analysis. Using CQC practice records matched with NHSBSA contract data, it estimates 55.6% of dental practices offered meaningful NHS general dentistry in March 2026, down from 64.6% in 2017. At least 600 practices had left NHS general dentistry over that period.
The useful read: more activity doesn’t automatically mean a stronger local NHS footprint. The system can work harder while access still feels thin.
Hospital NHS service can now count.
Worked in hospital dentistry before moving into NHS practice?
Worth knowing.
From September, England’s eligibility rules for discretionary payments have been widened so secondary NHS dental service, as well as primary care service, can count towards the two-year service requirement.
The payments include maternity, paternity and adoption leave, plus long-term sickness support.
You’ll need documented NHS employment history and references when claiming.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
30-Second Question
You’re restoring a non-carious cervical lesion with a universal adhesive and selective enamel etching.
Would adding 50 μm aluminium-oxide air abrasion to the dentine improve retention over 18 months?
A) Yes
B) No clear benefit
Have a think. Answer near the bottom.
BUSINESS OF DENTISTRY
The buyers are back.
Christie & Co’s new Dental Market Review says 57% of accepted offers in the first half of 2026 completed at or above asking price.
The buyer mix has shifted too. In 2025, independent and first-time buyers accounted for 77% of offers. In H1 2026 they accounted for 50%, with groups of three or more sites making up the other half.
The more interesting point is what buyers appear to be paying for: stable teams, strong operating performance, investment in the practice and clear growth opportunities.
If you’re thinking about ownership, don’t read “hot market” as “anything sells”.
Quality is doing the heavy lifting.
One caveat: this is market evidence from a firm that brokers and values practices, not an independent national price index.
BREAK THE ICE
Patient sits down and says:
“I fear dentists.”
Try:
“Fair enough. What’s the bit you dislike most, so I can make today easier?”
No defence. No awkward laugh.
And you’ve immediately learned what they’re worried about.
THE ANSWER
B) No clear benefit.
The split-mouth randomised trial included 63 patients and 126 restorations.
At 18 months, one control restoration and five air-abraded restorations had been lost. Estimated retention was 96.7% without air abrasion and 90.3% with it.
That difference wasn’t statistically significant, and air abrasion didn’t improve marginal staining, adaptation, sensitivity or secondary caries either.
Takeaway: under this specific protocol, the extra step didn’t improve clinical performance over 18 months.
Useful? Yes. Case closed? Not really. It’s one modest trial, with one adhesive/restorative protocol and limited follow-up.
READER POLL
For our first snapshot of the profession:
Which best describes your clinical week?
Tap one. We’ll share the results next week.
THE LAST RINSE
The weekly dental truth:
A 20-minute appointment can absorb 45 minutes.
A 45-minute appointment can also absorb 45 minutes.
Dentistry has its own laws of physics.
That’s The Dental Read.
Five minutes. You’re caught up.
See you next Thursday.
If this was useful, forward it to one dentist who’d appreciate getting their Thursday back.